On the day the noble council ended.
“It can’t end like this!”
The empress dowager, returning from the council, threw various objects in anger. Her lady-in-waiting and close friend, the Countess of Valiere, tried her best to calm the empress dowager’s mind.
“This is temporary. Didn’t you use the count as a disposable card from the beginning? Please calm down and take a deep breath!”
“Ah… Bella. The count, yes. I made it easy for me to withdraw from the beginning, considering him an insignificant card. But he wasn’t meant to be discarded so easily, so futilely. Moreover, the card I have left is…”
“The private army, right?”
“But the emperor is a blood demon on the battlefield. It won’t succeed. I know that no matter how excellent my son is, he’s not well-versed in martial arts.”
The empress dowager anxiously bit her lip.
In fact, her son hadn’t shown excellent performance in anything, but the empress dowager still believed her son was better than the emperor.
It was a typical case of maternal bias.
The countess became anxious watching the empress dowager. In fact, all those who had gathered to support the empress dowager’s cause would feel the same.
The emperor was clearly keeping an eye on the empress dowager.
If the empress dowager were to quietly retreat to her villa and live peacefully, she and her ladies-in-waiting could live comfortably. It might be a bit difficult to be beside the empress dowager as she nursed her anger, though.
But what about the lady who supported the merchant group for the empress dowager? The lady who secretly brought information?
They would be under the emperor’s surveillance and face subtle ostracism.
Then the villa life of the empress dowager and her ladies-in-waiting wouldn’t be so peaceful either. Wouldn’t they face resentment from their friends, saying things like, ‘We trusted you, but you abandoned us and left.’
Most nobles would stop at nothing. They acted cultured and smiled in public, but behind the scenes, they were the type to hire mercenaries to eliminate political opponents.
At present, it didn’t seem likely that the empress dowager’s longtime friends would do such a thing, but you never know with people.
Wasn’t it also unexpected that a murderess suddenly became the empress and took over the realm?
As the empress dowager’s closest lady-in-waiting, the Countess of Valiere racked her brains over and over.
“Your Majesty. Rather…”
“Do you have any ideas?”
“…How about… separating just the wench? From what I saw at today’s council, it seems the emperor truly cherishes her.”
“…You’re right. The emperor… does seem that way.”
The attitude at the noble council.
With things turning out this way, it must have been the emperor who gathered witnesses instead of the empress. Thinking about it, he must truly love her. She had felt that way all along, but now she was even more certain.
The empress dowager looked quite satisfied with the answer the Countess of Valiere provided.
“Yes… They say the two are close, but… She won’t be able to accompany the emperor as he departs for battle to deal with the remaining ‘remnants’.”
“Moreover, the private army you’ve raised, Your Majesty, is full of men who are burning to kill the emperor.”
The true identity of the private army the empress dowager had gathered was the remnant soldiers from the conquest war.
Not many people were sacrificed in the conquest war. This was due to the emperor’s strict order not to touch civilians.
However, the soldiers.
The soldiers who protected each kingdom perished at Carlos’s hands. They naturally began to hate Carlos out of shame for losing their country and anger at losing their comrades.
The empress dowager gathered such beings.
The remnant soldiers of the conquest war who wanted to assassinate the emperor even at the cost of their lives.
Of course, looking at the strength of each soldier individually, they couldn’t defeat the emperor. He was truly… a monster. It couldn’t even be called human strength.
At one point, there were attempts to manipulate public opinion, claiming that such power was impossible and must belong to a demon.
But there were no citizens who hated the prince who brought victory every time, and naturally, the manipulation of public opinion failed.
“But that bastard is a monster.”
The empress dowager knew this precisely.
That’s why she ended up gathering those willing to throw away their lives. Without such determination, it would be impossible to defeat such an opponent.
She faced quite a few difficulties in the process of secretly gathering the remnant soldiers one by one. She had to spend money lavishly to bring them in discreetly.
Well, later it became easier to recruit as they started passing information among themselves.
The private army she gathered this way exceeded tens of thousands.
She continued to raise them by spending vast fortunes, but she was still contemplating how to use them.
Neither the empress dowager nor her son had any expertise in warfare, and even with tens of thousands of soldiers, it seemed impossible to defeat the emperor and his army.
In this situation, the Countess of Valiere’s idea was very, very useful.
“The emperor hasn’t had to go on a trip to deal with remnants recently.”
The empress dowager muttered so that only her closest lady-in-waiting could hear.
The existence of the private army was a secret known only to the empress dowager and her lady-in-waiting. Even the friends who supported the empress dowager didn’t know about this secret.
It was that dangerous an existence. After all, it was a gathering of traitors!
That’s why it was even more useful.
They would willingly sacrifice their lives to divert the emperor’s attention upon hearing the empress dowager’s scheme.
“Bella. I think I should go check on my personal carriage. It seems the maintenance has been sloppy lately.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The empress dowager, while staying at the villa, deliberately brought in a tight-lipped and quick-footed person from among her private soldiers and made him her coachman.
At first, he looked like a soldier no matter what, but now he had become an ordinary coachman who chewed on straw and joked with passing servants.
Of course. She educated him not to lose his dignity as her coachman in official settings.
“Yes… Which region would be good?”
The empress dowager smiled mischievously as she specifically planned out the scheme the Countess of Valiere had suggested, in a very low voice.
The emperor would have no choice but to go to the battlefield.
He was the type who hated sacrificing soldiers the most.
Isn’t it pathetic?
He could stay comfortably in the imperial palace by entrusting it to the knight commander and letting a few soldiers die.
The emperor was truly someone the empress dowager couldn’t understand, and would never be able to understand.
* * *
Carlos’s army moved incredibly fast. Despite the considerable distance, they arrived at the battlefield in one breath, just before sunset.
The area that had become a battlefield was in chaos.
This was the reason he rushed without hesitation when conflicts arose.
The soldiers who had been defeated by him were left with nothing but evil, and forgetting their pride as warriors, they attacked civilians.
Resolving this was, of course, Carlos’s responsibility.
Because he was the one who waged the war.
Upon arrival, they had to face the enemy immediately without even time to set up camp. Fortunately, they had changed horses just before arriving.
The horses galloped off in an unfatigued state.
As always, Carlos drew his greatsword and charged at the forefront. Sky Rah stuck close to his side.
“Your Majesty. Please fall back!”
“That’s out of the question.”
He answered calmly even while rushing like a madman. Sky Rah thought it was fortunate that she was a good rider.
It was truly an insane speed. She could barely keep up, shouting all the while.
“Do you want to die like this? What if something… suddenly happens! Please listen to me! And please, trust Sir Gregory a little!”
“I’m well aware of my knight commander’s excellent skills.”
Carlos gave a brief reply before swinging his greatsword widely and surging ahead.
Could one ride any faster than this? In the end, Sky Rah fell behind Carlos.
The enemy army, which had been rampaging madly, setting fires, and massacring civilians, lit up their eyes as soon as they saw Carlos.
Those who had caused the conflict knew how strong his sword was, and that their lives would easily be extinguished.
However, it didn’t matter for the sake of the plan of ‘someone’ who had gathered and trained them, though they didn’t know their identity.
Detain Carlos. That alone would inflict the greatest wound on him. The emperor has recently found a woman he loves. She’s his only weakness, so let’s kidnap her and take revenge!
It was indeed an appealing plan for those who had lost their countries to the emperor. Wasn’t it returning the same sorrow?
The rebel army charged towards Carlos with bloodshot eyes.
Simultaneously, Carlos’s greatsword sliced through the air. Blood splattered, and screams and enraged shouts filled the entire world.
Carlos felt his shoulders stiffening as he frantically suppressed the rebel army. Nevertheless, he didn’t rest his body.
He had countless battlefield experiences. And even if his body stiffened, he could somehow achieve victory by using aura.
In fact, that’s how it was.
Although pain invaded his heart, his arms and sword naturally found their place and easily cut down people. His expression didn’t change at all.
As he was brutally cutting down the rebel army while wielding his aura-clad sword like that.
“…Your Majesty! News from the imperial palace… Mercedes… has been!”
Gregory’s shout was heard in between.
‘Mercedes?’
Has something happened? There might have been a weakness in the security or knight placement at the palace due to the sudden expedition.
Above all, he had to mobilize many troops because the number of rebels this time was too large.
“What are you saying?”
Carlos turned his horse towards Gregory and shouted. The two continued their conversation without stopping the battle.
“You know that communication device Sky Rah uses only in emergencies, the one that uses a lot of magic power! They contacted us through that!”
“Get to the point!”
“They say Lady Mercedes has been kidnapped. A fire broke out in the palace… Your Majesty? Your Majesty!”
For a moment.
There was an illusion that nothing could be heard or seen.
Mercedes was kidnapped? She disappeared? As soon as he left his post?
“Gregory, I leave the rear to you.”
He turned his horse’s head without thinking.
It was the first time the emperor, who had always stood at the forefront of the battlefield with a sense of responsibility, showed his back.
Top Celebrity Younger Brother Bears Her Child (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Forced to live stream romance with a top celebrity in a female-dominant world.
Yan Jin transmigrated into a brothel, with a fellow transmigrated junior beside her.
Hearing the obscene words coming from outside, the unfortunate junior covered his ears tightly, his cheeks flushed red, and whispered to comfort her, “Don’t worry, I will definitely help you escape.”
“Don’t worry, I will definitely defend your chastity.” Yan Jin looked at the flawless and delicate features of the unfortunate junior and gently comforted, “Because we have transmigrated into a female-dominant world.”
※※※
Top celebrity Yu Shu suddenly fell into a coma during a concert.
Research scientist Yan Jin fainted in the lab after working overtime.
Two people with no connection were rushed to the same hospital.
Three days later, neither of them had woken up.
Suddenly, the entire nation discovered that a live streaming app had been forcibly installed on their phones.
Upon opening it, they heard the two discussing how to escape from the brothel.
The entire internet was in an uproar.
After the two successfully escaped from the brothel, Yu Shu’s fan group rushed to make a banner and sent it to the hospital overnight.
“Big sister bravely took action to defend the chastity of our idol!”
※※※
When Yu Shu was diagnosed with pregnancy, Yan Jin stared at his belly for a long time.
Covering his stomach, he muttered gloomily, “If you don’t like it, I’ll go get an abortion.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.” Yan Jin hugged Yu Shu and said softly, “I just feel like I’m not human.”
Yu Shu comforted Yan Jin, “I was already an adult when we got together.”
Yan Jin hesitated, “But you won’t be of legal marriageable age even after giving birth to the child.”
At the same time, a flood of bullet comments appeared in the live streaming room that the two couldn’t see.
[Although it’s inappropriate, I also want a young and handsome boyfriend to have my child.]
①Male pregnancy (highlighted)
The female lead is five years older than the male lead, and the male lead is already an adult when he appears.